How It Could Have Been
by imagine0330
Summary: Alatatriel is an elf from Rivendell. She lives somewhat in peace with her mother along with the other elves, but ever since that day, she has always been hesitant traveling far from the safe halls. But after a visit from a certain grey wizard and his persuasive offer of adventure, well, maybe she'll finally have the courage to see the rest of the world.


**Hello all! I would like to present my first ever fanfic! You see I have written short stories before, but I never actually put effort into them or finished them. And I got this idea for a fic and I thought that it be could enough for me to post, but I'm to be honest I'm really nervous about posting ;-; . So as we go on this little adventure I highly encourage you to leave me any tips or suggestions! So off we go!**

_Prologue:_

The last bit of sunlight sunk behind the tall peaks of the Misty Mountains. Night was falling upon Middle Earth quickly as two white horses trotted over the uneven ground near the base of the mountain. The two horses had riders, elves to be exact. A man, a woman, and a small little girl rode along the grey stones. This particular group was, of course, a family. This family was returning to their home of Rivendell after a visit to the elven kingdom in the Mirkwood forest.

"Amil*!" the little girl spoke suddenly to her mother.

The elf woman looked down quickly in front of her where her young daughter was seated on the saddle.

"Yes my dear Alatáriel?" responded the women, slightly surprised at the sudden sound of her daughter's voice.

Alatáriel looked up at her with tired green eyes that slightly shined from the sunset.

"Amil, when are going to get back home to Rivendell?" She whined. "I'm tired of sitting on Silvara," Pointing at the horse beneath her. "And not getting to stretch my legs when I want to and I just want to sleep!" She finished with a pout.

Her mother rolled her eyes in amusement. Even though her daughter was only at the fairly young elven age of 9, she acted as though she was 35. Although, her daughter's argument was just. They had been traveling for many hours straight because of having to cross over the Misty Mountains and had very limited options. The mountains were dangerous when night came. Not only could one fall straight off a cliff, but lately there had been talk of a growth of goblins and orcs spotted near the mountain.

As Alatáriel's mother thought of this the elven man, her husband, spoke to his daughter shaking the elven mother out of her trance.

"Do not worry loote* we shall settle down for the night once we get further from the mountain. Then once we get a good night's rest, we shall be back home in Rivendell by early afternoon." He explained to her with a smile.

Alatátriel looked at her father as he spoke and as he finished she smiled at him and stuck out her arm and extended her pinkie.

" Promise Atar*?" She asked innocently with a smile.

The father smiled down at her and hooked his own pinkie with the much smaller one of his daughters.

"Promise?" He said with a slight chuckle. And then with a slight smirk he unhooked his pinkie and held his right in front of his body. "Or may old Solmyr here buck me straight off his back."

Alatátriel let out a laugh at her father's silliness. That's what she loved the most about her father. He could make anyone laugh, no matter how down they felt, he could always make them feel better.

After a few minutes of silence, Alatátriel looked up to the sky and could see that a few stars were now visible in the dusk sky. She then suddenly smiled and turned her head towards her mother.

"Amil! Amil! I have a great idea!" She shouted with glee and excitement.

Her mother, once again surprised by the sudden shout, jumped slightly and looked down once again at her little girl.

"And what is that darling?" Her mother asked, letting a slight exasperated sigh escape her lips as she prepared herself for whatever her daughter was going to possibly suggest.

Alatátriel took a deep breath and quickly asked, "Could you sing for me, please? Please, Amil! You haven't sung my favorite song in forever!" Her smiling growing wider and wider as she begged.

The mother looked at her child curiously and then at her husband, who was looking at her. They both instantly began to let out small warm fits of laughter as they both looked at their daughter.

Still slightly giggling, the mother nodded.

"Why of course my darling. I would be delighted to sing for you your favorite song."

And with that she cleared her throat and began to sing a beautiful tune…

_Lay down…your sweet and weary head._

_Night is falling…you've come to journey's end._

_Sleep now and dream of the ones who came before._

_They are calling…from across the distant shore._

At this point, both Alatátriel and her father were so entranced by her mother's voice that no member of the family noticed the dark shadows hidden behind rocks and inside crevices by the foot of the mountain that prepared them for what was about to happen.

Both horses of the party gave a loud whiney as they caught glimpses of the figures before them. The family members let out slight gasps as they were surprised not only by the horses, but also from the small pack of at least seven goblins that stood in front of them.

Alatátriel looked at the goblins curiously since she had never seen them before. Of course, she knew they were vile creatures that wouldn't hesitate to kill anything…even their own kind. Her heart began to beat rapidly as one let out a loud screech causing her also to grip her mother in a tight protective hug.

What happened next was a blur. After the goblin had let out its screech, her father had shouted something to her and her mother. It sounded like 'Run! Get out of here!' but the sound of the blood pumping through her small pointed ears prevented her from hearing. The last thing she saw was her father pulling out his bow and arrow for a close range shot at a goblin's head, but her mother's steering of the horse prevented her from seeing anymore.

Alatátriel could now hear screaming in the distant. She could only hope that it was made by the goblins, but her mother's sobs said otherwise.

After what felt like an eternity of darkness was quickly met with a light of hope. The light being the faint glow of torches that lit the halls of their home. Rivendell.

_***Mother**_

_***flower**_

_***Father**_

**And there we have it! That was the exceptionally LONG prologue…at least in my opinion. Also the song the mother was singing in case you didn't know was Into the West by Annie Lenox, which was written and sung for LOTR: Return of the King. I just felt like putting it in there for some reason ^-^ Well, I really hope that you're enjoying this so far! I know that ending bit probably sucked since, to me, it seems really rushed. Reason being was because I just really wanted it to end and I just couldn't seem to get the right words down. Well enough of me, again thank you for reading and I hope you look forward to Chapter 1! **


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